U.S. Nearing Decision on Libya Strike, Regan Says

White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan said Friday that the Administration is nearing a decision that could trigger retaliatory military action against Libya, which most top U.S. officials believe is responsible for the deadly West Berlin nightclub bombing last week.

Regan made his comments to reporters at the White House as two aircraft carrier-led naval task forces were in the Mediterranean, at least two days away from the Libyan coast. The Regan remarks served further notice that the Administration has fixed the blame squarely on Libya’s Col. Moammar Kadafi for the terrorist attack in West Berlin, which killed a U.S. soldier and a Turkish woman and wounded more than 200 people.

But a well-placed Administration official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, said that no U.S. military action is expected until next week, “if then.” By Friday, the forces in the Mediterranean had not yet moved into position for possible bombing attacks on Libyan targets.

The Administration official, however, said the United States is weighing the consequences of military action: “I sense no element of disagreement, but rather a lot of rigging out the implications, such as the effect on the allies.”

Other officials said that the military preparations are proceeding without difficulty, but that the Administration faces new diplomatic and political obstacles.

On Capitol Hill, one of the Administration’s strongest foreign policy allies, Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demanded that his panel be informed “as soon as possible” about planned action against Libya.

Restraint Urged

And West Germany, joined by other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, urged the Administration to avoid a military response, even if it can prove that Kadafi was behind the West Berlin discotheque attack last Saturday or the bombing of a Trans World Airlines 727 over Greece a few days earlier, in which four Americans were killed.

President Reagan has long maintained that the United States would strike back at terrorists if it could identify them with certainty and locate their bases.

Chief of Staff Regan, talking to reporters covering the President’s departure for a weekend at Camp David, Md., was asked if he agreed that there is clear and convincing evidence of Kadafi’s involvement. “As far as most people (at the White House) are concerned, yes, that is true,” he said. “We haven’t reached a final conclusion, but we’re coming close.”

But when reporters asked if that meant that a retaliatory strike is imminent, Regan said: “Oh, I wouldn’t think so. We just have to keep looking.”

‘No Decision in Concrete’

Another official, who declined to be identified, said that in the last several days “people were jumping to the conclusion that a decision had been made.” He said that was “a legitimate conclusion (at the time), but no decision is in concrete.”

He said a long White House meeting several days ago produced what he believed was a decision to launch military action but, he cautioned, “a presidential decision isn’t immutable until there is an executive order and the thing is set in motion.”

More recently, he said, the Administration has reviewed individual targets and tried to determine the advantages and disadvantages of hitting each.

The official said that the White House meetings were attended by Regan, Secretary of State George P. Shultz, national security adviser John M. Poindexter and Deputy Defense Secretary William H. Taft IV, sitting in for Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, who is winding up a two-week tour in Asia and is due back in Washington on Sunday.

Foreign Officials Due

Although the formidable armadas led by the carriers Coral Sea and America could be in position to attack within days, there are strong diplomatic reasons for delay. Beginning today and continuing through next week, key leaders of Japan, West Germany and Australia are scheduled to visit Washington. It would be awkward for the United States to launch an attack while the foreign visitors are in town.

Most sensitive is the Tuesday and Wednesday visit of West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The Bonn government, under pressure from Washington, has been inching toward diplomatic and economic sanctions against Libya.

But it has urged the United States to show military restraint. A U.S. attack on Libya would cause friction between the two governments at any time, but the effect would be magnified if it occurred while Genscher was in Washington.

A U.S. official said that the Genscher visit was scheduled several weeks ago, primarily to discuss the May economic summit in Tokyo. But the official said there is no doubt that the Libya situation will be raised in discussions.

“On balance, the West Germans don’t want to go as far as we do,” the official said. “But we see some encouraging signs in the German reaction. They are taking a far tougher stance (against Libya) than they were a few weeks ago.”

Outlining the Case

The official said that Reagan and Shultz certainly will outline to Genscher the U.S. case for firm action against Kadafi. But he said he does not know if the President will agree to exercise military restraint if West Germany, which buys 14% of its oil from Libya, agrees to take additional economic and diplomatic steps.

In Bonn on Friday, Chancellor Helmut Kohl said there were “a great many indications” that Libya is linked to the West Berlin bombing, but he called for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

A senior West German officials later told reporters: “We have to consider our national position. We have 1,400 Germans in Libya.” West Germany is Libya’s second-largest trading partner.

Other countries urging restraint Friday were Canada and Italy, which raised questions about U.S. naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra last month. On Capitol Hill, sentiment generally backed some sort of action against Libya, but even some of the Administration’s firmest supporters were complaining that Congress has not been kept informed.

Lugar’s spokesman, Mark Helmke, said that the Foreign Relations Committee chairman supports retaliation, but only if Congress is consulted first.

“The review is needed in light of current military maneuvers in the Mediterranean and indications that some type of retaliation for the bombing in West Berlin is under discussion,” Lugar said in a letter to Shultz.

“We have been working together now for some 16 months to forge a partnership between the Administration and the committee on foreign policy,” Lugar added. “I think an early meeting with the committee would help further this goal.”